Unwavering Fate
by Clow Angel
Summary: InuyashaYYH xover. The Shikon no Tama has entered the world of the Feudal Ages. This time, brought by one young man, NOT a woman. HieiKurama, YusKei
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes:** This is my first Yu Yu Hakusho x Inuyasha crossover, so forgive me if there's anything in here that's a bit funny.

Anyways, this will be a remake of the Inuyasha storyline, just replaced with Yu Yu Hakusho characters. Of course, it will be VERY different, and you'll see why -laughs evilly- Now, some of the Inuyasha characters will remain the same because I could not think of proper replacements for them.

**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho!!! This goes the same for EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER after this!

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**Prologue**

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Five hundred years ago...

"Youko Kurama!" A young woman adorned in bloodied miko robes drew an arrow and strung it to her bow, aiming it at a red-haired young man. Her eyes were narrowed dangerously, displaying anguish and hurt. Tears threatened to spill from her auburn eyes.

"What are you talking about Shizuru?" he asked, confusion evident on his feminine face. He truly did not know what she was talking about.

"How dare you lie to me?! Even now?!" She screamed in fury. Her normally cool and collected eyes narrowed even more as a single tear rolled down her porcelain cheeks, hitting the soft ground soundlessly. Her soft auburn-brown hair danced in the wind as it caressed the two figures facing each other. "Why! Why did you try to take it?" she screamed once more, more tears stinging her eyes.

Now, the beautiful redhead was clearly confused. He had not tried to take anything. His thievery skills had not been put to use for over two decades. "What are you talking about, Shizuru?!"

"Lies! You wounded me and tried to take the Shikon no Tama from me, leaving me there to die!" She sneered even when her tears could be held back no longer and spilled forth from her honey-brown orbs forming twin trails of tears down her pale cheeks. She almost stumbled when her wound made itself visible, revealing it to be a rather deep cut across her shoulder. Blood seeped through her robe's material, spreading through the front. The wound must have opened up again before it barely even sealed itself. The miko was slowly bleeding to death. "Thankfully, the kekkai stopped you."

"I did no such thing, Shizuru! Please, believe me!" Kurama pleaded. He wanted nothing more than to give the woman who faced him a hug. However, he could tell he was not welcomed anymore.

"I think not, Kurama. You betrayed me. This will be our death day." With that, she unleashed her purifying arrow. More blood spread as the wound was made wider because of her movements.

Kurama eyes widened in shock and worry before closing in resignation. Whatever had happened happened and he wouldn't be able to stop it. With Shizuru's nearing death, there was no reason for him to live on anyways. He prepared for his own death. The glowing projectile pierced him in the heart. The force of the holy weapon forced him back dozens of feet and slammed him into an ancient tree.

His vision was getting blurry as he strained to see Shizuru one last time. "Shizuru... ai-..." He never finished, his eyes having already slipped shut due to the sealing spell.

"Kurama-kun..." Shizuru dropped to her knees. Unguarded tears spilling forth once more from tightly shut eyes. "I'll follow you soon," the young miko whispered into the wind.

"Shizuru-onee-sama!" A young pink-haired girl dropped her basket of herbs in shock and ran over to her fallen elder sister, steadying her in her arms. "Onee-sama! What happened?!" Villagers hearing the commotion soon surrounded the pair, all worried for their village miko.

"No...time...to explain.." Shizuru turned to face the young girl, sweat staining her brows with her effort to continue speaking, the emotional and physical pain almost overwhelming her. "Genkai, grow up strong. Onee-sama does not have much longer. Cremate me along with the Shikon no tama.."

"Onee-sama...!" With that, Shizuru the great miko fell back, eyes slowly falling shut and passed away in Genkai's arms. With a smile on her face, she met death with hopes of seeing her beloved in the afterlife.

"Shizuru-sama!" the villagers chorused as they watched their protector fall into the arms of death. There were many tears to be shed in the days that follow.

- - - - - - - - - -

**Semi Preview:**

Now, we all know Shizuru will be reincarnated, right? Good. Well, I've run out of females! So take a guess at whom the reincarnation will be. - If you're against shounen-ai, that's fine. There won't be much of it anyway, but the main coupling will be shounen-ai. However, don't bash me for it. If you don't like it, just don't read it.

**Now on to the people that have appeared:**

Genkai as Kaede

Shizuru as Kikyo

Kurama as Inuyasha

If anyone has any ideas for this fanfiction, please feel free to e-mail me or leave it in the reviews. I already have most of the first chapter written so it shouldn't be too long of a wait. - Now, please R&R.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** This is my second chapter. I hope you enjoy. Remember, if you have ANY ideas whatsoever, e-mail me or put it in a review.

**Warning!!** There WILL be shounen-ai. If you don't like it, you can leave. Don't bother with stupid reviews trying to insult me for writing how I want. This is FANFICTION, it does NOT have to go by the storyline.

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. How sad, huh?

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**Chapter 1**

By **clowangel**

* * *

"Buyo! Where are you?!" A young boy looked around an old shed, searching for their famly pet; a fat cat.

"Shura, what are you doing?" asked a young man dressed in black who had just stepped out of the backdoor of their two story house.

"Looking for Buyo, onii-san," Shura replied meekly, violet orbs downcast.

"Grandfather has told us not to go in that shed and to stay away from it," the boy's brother said sternly, ruby eyes narrowing.

"H-hai onii-san." Shura shuffled back into the house with a resigned sigh.

"Hiei! Come in here! It's time you opened your presents!" a woman's voice called from within the walls of the house.

"Hai, okaa-san." Hiei took a step towards the house but stiffed when he felt something eerie come from the shed. Whipping his head around, glaring and hand placed on the hilt of his katana, he scanned the area before dismissing it as a hallucination. He stepped back into the house.

That afternoon, after the celebration of Hiei's fifteenth birthday, the ruby-eye boy inspected the well house. There was no doubt he had felt a pulse of power this time. Shura being a curious kid followed his brother but stayed close by.

Drawing his katana, Hiei slid the shed door open and peered inside with narrowed ruby orbs.

Looking at his brother, Shura's eyes also narrowed when he heard some shuffling sounds come from within the well house. Eyes widening, he stepped into the forbidden area. "Buyo?!" he called. Turning away from the well, he looked around trying to see into the darkness. "Buyo!!" He wasn't there.

"Shura! Get down!" Hiei ordered sternly, holding his katana in front of him, ready to strike.

"Huh?" Shura stared at his brother in confusion.

"I said GET DOWN!" he repeated with a snarl.

Shura got the message and without another though, he dropped to the floor. Hiei leapt over the boy and slashed. An arm fell to the floor with a thud. Hiei held in a groan of disgust from seeing the twitching limb on the ground. He had never severed anyone's arm before. Looking up, he finally saw clearly what he had been sensing all day and could not hold back his gasp of surprise and shock.

Hearing his brother gasp, Shura looked up from the floor and screamed, backing into a wall.

It was a centipede woman. Her many arms twitched in anticipation and her long tongue ran over her red lips, eyeing the children before her. She had pitch-black hair that cascaded down to her waist. Her upper body looked human enough. Hiei wondered briefly why she wasn't wearing any clothing. However, below her torso, many legs were attached to a long, segmented body. In other words, this woman was part bug, ugly, and rather big.

"Shikon…no tama…" Her beady black eyes gleamed in the dark. "Give me… Shikon no tama!" she screeched and dived at Hiei. He jumped out of the way, fear coursing through his system. He had never seen a youkai before. Sure his grandfather spoke of them often, but he thought the old man was talking crazy. Taking a quick look behind him, he noticed his brother was frozen in place with fear. Eyes flickering back to the ugly demon, he called to Shura.

"Shura! Get out of here!" Hiei ordered.

Snapping out of his stupor, he looked fearfully up at his brother. "But, onii-san--!"

"Shura! There is no time for arguments! Now, GO!" Hiei barked at the cowering boy.

Hesitating for a few seconds, Shura shot out of the well house, but not without a worried backward glance. 'I have to tell Grandpa and haha-ue...'

Meanwhile, Hiei was trying his best to dodge the demon's attacks but the shed was too small to allow much movement so his speed didn't help him like he hoped. Frankly, he had no idea how to kill a demon and he was slowly getting worn out. His quivering nerves didn't help either.

Hiei's head swiveled towards the door when he heard rapid footsteps approaching the battle. That was his mistake. The centipede grabbed him and proceeded to drag him down the well.

"Hiei!" his mother gasped, eyes wide with fear.

Shura who was behind the shocked woman ran towards the well and looked down to find the demon and his brother were engulfed in a mystical blue light.

"Onii-san!" He tried reaching for his hand, but they had disappeared. He dropped onto his knees, tears falling from his light violet eyes.

"Let go of me, bitch!" Replaced by fear was anger and frustration. How dare this demon take him away from his family! Sword still in his hand, he angrily stabbed into the demon's abdomen. Hiei's ruby orbs widened when a light red-violet energy hummed, poured forth from within him, and plunged into the insane demon. The force blasted a hole through her. She screeched and was thrown back.

As abruptly the blue light had engulfed him, it vanished. Hiei blinked, a blank look on his face before noticing something a second later. Something didn't smell right. Literally. The air was too fresh. Looking around him, he noticed a vine and effortlessly climbed it. What met his eyes nearly knocked him over.

"Where in hell am I?" he found himself asking out loud, red eyes taking in the endless stretch of grass, spring flowers in bloom that were giving off a sweet fragrant smell, and the many trees that probably led to a forest. He blinked again before saying rather loudly, "Am I fucking dreaming?" 'Everything's been too weird for it to be a dream,' he concluded a second later. Still confused about where he had ended up, Hiei decided to do some exploring to pass the time.

The forest wasn't too thick, allowing the afternoon sunlight to filter through the treetops, displaying splattered patterns on the forest floor and undergrowth.

Eventually, Hiei reached an old tree that looked strangely familiar. Deciding to take a closer look, he walked around the tree. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw a young man pinned to it, seemingly asleep. However, an old arrow in his chest killed the thought. Looking at him closely, he could tell the man could not be older than seventeen years of age and had a really pretty face. Briefly, he wondered what color the beautiful man's eyes were. A gentle wind blew causing the seemingly sleeping man's blood-red tresses to flow with it, giving him an ethereal glow. Mesmerized, Hiei climbed up the tree's roots, his hand reached up to brush the scarlet strands away. However, his hand stopped mere inches from doing what he unconsciously intended to when an elder woman's voice rang through the clearing.

"Stranger! What are you doing in Kurama's Forest?!"

Startled, Hiei withdrew his hand and mentally scolded himself for letting his guard down. While he was spaced out, an old hag and a bunch of men had surrounded him with him noticing. That was not good. He had been trained to sense enemies from a distance. He found himself wondering if he had been that out of it.

"I've been wondering the same thing, hag" he found himself replying roughly, just barely restraining a growl.

"Identify yourself!" Genkai barked. The old woman was not in the best of moods today. First, she had thought she sensed her deceased sister's signature energy, and then found a kid in the sacred Forest of Kurama. Now said kid was getting rather angry for who knows what reason.

"The name's Hiei" he bit out. "What the hell do you want with me? If it's a fight you want, bring it." He didn't hesitate in drawing his sword. The finely sharped katana caught a ray and glinted under the afternoon sun.

"We'd like to avoid fighting if possible. I just want to know what it is you're doing here of all places." Genkai didn't want to fight without good reason. Lately, she hadn't been feeling the best.

"As I've said, I have no damn clue as to why I'm here. I just ended up here after being dragged down a damn well by an insane centipede youkai demanding some shit by the name of Shikon no Tama."

The group gasped. "Shikon no Tama? Are you sure that's what the youkai was looking for?"

"God damn it, yes!" Hiei was really starting to lose his patience. 'Did these people not understand Japanese?'

"Would you mind much following me back to the village? I'd like to speak with you."

"Fine" he bit out and sheathed his sword in a single fluid movement. Genkai rose a brow at how well trained the youth was with a sword.

"What about him though?" Hiei nodded towards the unconscious redhead pinned to the tree.

"Kurama-sama? He's been sleeping for the past 50 years. I don't believe he'll be waking up anytime soon" Genkai replied softly with hidden sorrow. She never did find out what had happened on that fateful day fifty years ago.

Hiei's eyes widened for the umpteenth time that day. 'Fifty years? How was that possible?' He found his eyes wandering back to the youth, taking in his beautiful features.

A good twenty minutes later, Hiei found himself sitting inside a small hut with a burning fire set up in the middle of the small room facing the old woman who was now sipping a cup of tea. There were a few villagers standing guard outside with hoes and shovels and such.

"I have some questions for you, young man." Genkai placed her cup of tea down on the mat.

"Ask then. My patience is wearing thin as we speak though."

Genkai ignored that. "Are you a youkai?"

"A youkai? No. I'm human."

"Then why is it you have ruby eyes?"

"Doctors claimed it was a mutation of sorts" Hiei replied lazily.

"Doctors?" Genkai was unfamiliar with the term. "What are doctors if I may ask?"

Hiei stared at the old woman in front of him strangely. She didn't know what a doctor was? Where in fucken hell was he?! "You know, they give you medication when you get sick?"

"Oh, you meant healers." She understood now. Sort of.

"Whatever." Now, Hiei was seriously wondering if he was in some warped dream.

Taking another sip of her steaming cup of tea, she continued with her interrogation. "Earlier, in the forest, you claimed you were dragged down a well by a youkai who was looking for the Shikon no Tama."

Hiei gave a stiff nod of his head, eyes narrowed suspiciously at the short woman.

"Thank you. That is all I wish to know."

"Now for my own questions" Hiei said rather gruffly, barely withholding a growl. "How in hell do I get back home? I have no desire to stay in such weird places any longer than necessary."

"Theoretically, since you came through the Bone Eater Well, you can go back the same way. However, having never traveled through dimensions or time, I cannot tell you where it will take you," Genkai explained solemnly, still taking small sips from her cup of quickly cooling tea.

"Hn. Anyplace is better than strange worlds with youkai roaming the earth."

Genkai raised a mental brow. 'Youkai don't exist everywhere…?'

Hiei stood and prepared to leave. Genkai, probably having expected as much asked him to wait a moment.

"What is it, hag?"

Genkai suppressed a twitch. "It is not wise for one so young to head out after dark. Especially since the forest is swarming with youkai."

"Whatever. It doesn't matter. I have my sword. I can take care of myself." With that, Hiei stepped out of the hut.

"Matte, gaki. Allow me to accompany you. After all, it is quite dark. You might get lost" Genkai stood to follow.

"Sure, whatever, but I don't think anyone can get lost when that forest is glowing like that." Internally, Hiei was rather glad for the company. He did not know anything about this new strange world. Although he had a hunch he knew where he was even though it was a bit odd.

'He can see the forest's light…?' Genkai's eyes widened. 'Can it be…?'

Suddenly a group of five villagers supporting an injured villager came rushing towards Genkai in a panicked pace. "Genkai-sama! Taihen desu! Youkai…attacking!"

"Nani?! Get him inside my hut. I'll be back to tend to him after I deal with the problem!" Genkai ordered. "You two lead the way!" She pointed to two of the villagers who were holding pitchforks.

"Hai, Genkai-sama!"

In less than fifteen minutes, the small group arrived at the scene and Hiei raised a brow at the scene. A hoard of villagers was shooting arrows and spears at the female centipede youkai who had grabbed him earlier. None of the attacks were taking effect on the bug. It was kind of funny. To him it was anyway.

"Genkai-sama!" a few of them cried in relief as they saw their village miko.

"SHIKON….NO..TAMA..!!" The centipede woman turned to Hiei, beady eyes eyeing him hungrily.

Hiei forced himself not to grimace at the demon. Instead, he opted to draw his sword in preparation for a fight.

Hiei started when the old woman shouted out something like 'shot gun' and fired a massive amount of bright blue spheres of energy at the demon, sending it crashing into a few trees surrounding the Goshinboku. 'That's right! That tree is the Goshinboku! Meaning…I've traveled back in time…?' Hiei's eyes widened at the newly gained knowledge. 'So this is how the world was before technology.'

The demon was only slightly scratched and wasn't deterred at all. Instead, she dove with renewed vigor at Hiei who simply jumped out of the way with a nimble leap across the clearing, ending up right in front of the Goshinboku. Forgetting about the tail though, Hiei soon found himself wrapped tightly against the holy tree with the sleeping 'Kurama-sama'.

"Ano, what's going on?" Hiei heard a voice behind him ask. Without so much as wondering why there would be someone in a tree talking, he answered.

"An attack! Are you an idiot?" the vertically challenged human grit his teeth as air was forced out of his lungs.

"I'd like to think not."

"Then shut up!" Hiei all but growled before he realized someone was talking. Turning his head slightly, he looked up and found himself staring into emerald green orbs. "…"

"…" Kurama blinked. "Is there something on my face?"

"You're supposed to be asleep or some shit like that!" Hiei gasped as the centipede tightened her hold on him. Forgetting about the newly awakened redhead, he turned his attention to the ugly demon. His left arm was pinned to his side and his right hand had dropped his sword the moment he was smashed to the tree. Growling, he tried to think of something he could do to get out of this mess. His concentration was blown to the wind as the grip slacked and something immensely sharp dug into his hip. He unsuccessfully bit back a scream. "Shit!" That fucking demon just bit him!

A glowing jewel emerged from the open wound and landed on the soft grass below. Hiei blinked. 'There was a chunk of rock in him his entire life??' He found himself to be quite irked by the fact.

"Shikon…" The demon now ignored him, unraveling her tail from around the Goshinboku and dove for the jewel laying some yards away.

"Everyone shoot!" Genkai's scratched voice ordered. She decided not to think too much on why Kurama-sama would awaken all of a sudden and why a stranger from another world would have the Shikon no Tama imbedded within him. Instead, she raised her fist and punched forward, sending more glowing blue spheres of energy racing towards the giant centipede woman. They singed her, but nothing more.

Hiei found himself on the ground gasping for air as the centipede youkai slithered towards the glowing jewel. He quickly retrieved his sword.

"You must not let the demon get the jewel." Kurama called to Hiei.

"And why the hell shouldn't I?" Hiei found his eyes glaring at the pinned redhead. "That piece of shit caused me the current problem."

"You don't understand. That jewel holds immense power. To let it fall into the wrong hands can bring about the destruction of the world" Kurama explained.

"Tch. Fine." He figured if this world goes boom, so does his. Seeing as he lives in the future and all.

Hiei rushed to the demon and tried to stab her but was only flung back into the Goshinboku as the sword made only a small dent in the hard armor of the damn bug.

"Shit. It doesn't do anything to that damn bug bitch."

Kurama raised a brow at the cursing. "Release me then."

"Can't you do that yourself?" Hiei growled and put a hand to his ribs and winced. 'Damnit, seems like the bug broke a rib.'

"If I could, I wouldn't still be stuck here, now would I?" Kurama retorted, slightly irritated.

Hiei grumbled and climbed onto the roots of the Goshinboku. "What do I do?"

"Just pull the arrow out," Kurama said.

"Oh no you don't..!!" The youkai screeched, dove for the jewel mere feets away, swallowed it, and immediately wrapped up the pair again with the length of her body.

Hiei coughed. His injured ribs were being put under pressure with the damn thing's tight squeeze. "What a wonderful way to die."

"If you would just hurry and pull this out, we can get out of this quite alive" Kurama commented pleasantly, with not the least bit of panick.

"Trying to, damn it!" Hiei cursed and tried to reach for the arrow. Finally, taking a hold of it, he tugged. "C'mon you damn shit!" Tugging with what strength he could muster at the moment, he shut his eyes and pulled ever harder. Finally, the arrow glowed a blood red and disintegrated into dust with a burst of power. "There! Now do something about this bitch." Hiei grunted. His ribs were going to be smashed at this rate.

"Gladly." Kurama reached into his hair and pulled out…a rose.

Hiei couldn't help but blink. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Can't you pick a better time to ask out women?!"

Kurama raised a brow. "I assure you I'm not trying to woo anyone." With a flick of his wrist and a calm voicing of "Rose Whip!" the rose elongated and morphed into a viciously sharp and barbed green whip.

Hiei raised a brow. 'Never seen that before.'

With another flick of his wrist, the redhead severed the tail of the centipede, letting himself and Hiei drop to the ground lightly on their feet.

While Hiei regained his breath sitting on the soft grass, he watched the fight. Kurama was surprisingly nimble, graceful, and strong. The vertically challenged human would've never guessed judging by the femininely graceful features of the young man. Taking a deeper look into the fight, he noticed no matter how many times Kurama cut up the demon, the demon would piece herself back together.

"Hiei!" Genkai called. "Are you okay?" She rushed over.

"Just fine. Only a broken rib or two." He grunted in pain as he tried to stand up. Deciding that was probably a bad idea, he remained seated.

"Let me heal you." Genkai placed her palms face down, hovering over Hiei's ribs. A light blue glow surrounded the woman's hands. Hiei immediately felt his breathing became easier and the pain began to fade until, in two minutes, the pain was all but nonexistent.

"Thank you," Hiei uncomfortable bit out.

"You're welcome. Now back to more serious matters. Hurry and tell me where the shikon no tama is in that demon. If it is not removed, she cannot be defeated."

"How can I see it? It's _in_ her," Hiei replied skeptically.

"I believe you can and only you."

"Fine, whatever." Looking over at the fight, he watched the centipede carefully. To his surprise, he saw a faint glow in the midsection of the cenitpede. "I see it."

"Good. Now just tell Kurama-sama where it is and he can cut it off for you to retrieve."

Hiei didn't say anything. He merely got up and raced off towards the fight. "Hn." Appearing a few feet away from the still battling Kurama, he told of the jewel's location. Immediately, Kurama directed his whip to the area, resulting in a spray of violet blood.

"Now!" Kurama ordered. Normally, Hiei would be miffed, but right now was too serious a situation to take any offense. The rather short young man immediately dove for the jewel and rolled out of the thrashing demon's way. Kurama made short work of the remaining demoness and soon, the whip returned into the form of the harmless rose and disappeared into his mane of vibrant red hair.

"This stupid piece of rock caused this many problems?" Hiei stared down at the small round jewel in his palm that had ceased glowing.

"That's correct. That jewel can give power to demons and humans alike who seek power and can be corrupted easily" Genkai explained then turned to the tall redhead. "Kurama-sama… You're awake after fifty years of slumber. I welcome you back."

Kurama smiled slightly. "Fifty years. Has it been that long?" Hesitating for a second, he asked the question weighing so heavily on his mind since his awakening. "Genkai-chan, what has become of Shizuru?"

Genkai looked solemnly into Kurama's eyes and replied remorsefully, "Shizuru-onee-sama passed away on the same day you were sealed."

Kurama's emerald orbs glazed over with pain before settling on nothing at all a second later. "I…see… Gomen."

"It's been a long time."

Hiei, meanwhile, was becoming rather impatient. "Old hag, I'm leaving."

"Stay for tonight. Leave in the morning after we explain to you what has happened. You also need the rest," Genkai offered.

Hiei nodded, realizing he did need the rest. He glanced over at the silent redhead known as 'Kurama-sama'. 'What is he? Is he another demon? He sure doesn't look like a demon.' The very same thing his mind was mulling over interrupted his thoughts.

"What's your name?" Smiling leaf-green eyes looked down at him.

"Hiei" was the stiff reply.

"Ah, Douzo yoroshiku, Hiei-kun." Kurama smiled disarmingly.

Hiei found himself almost mesmerized by the charming smile before turning away swiftly. "Hn."

'What an interesting character this Hiei is.' Kurama grinned. Looking up into the night sky, he smiled softly. 'Rest in peace, Shizuru-chan.'

The group headed back to the village for some well-deserved rest, waiting for morning to come by.

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**Author's Notes: **Well, here's the second chapter! Third chapter has yet to be started on. I apologize for the long wait. As you can probably see, I have a lot of stuff I'm working on right now and I'm up to my neck in work.

**Now on to the people that have appeared:**

Genkai as Kaede

Shizuru as Kikyo

Kurama as Inuyasha

Hiei as Kagome (surprise?)

If anyone has _any_ ideas whatsoever for this fanfic, please send me an e-mail me or leave it in a review. ) I greatly appreciate it.


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** Back once again with a new chapter. I apologize but the chapters will be coming out rather slowly because I have other fanfics to work on and I can't possibly finish chapters all that quickly with so many to work on. I haven't even posted some up yet. But keep an eye out for a Pocket Monster fanfic anyway.

**Warning!** There WILL be shounen-ai. If you don't like it, you can leave. Don't bother with stupid reviews trying to insult me for writing how I want. This is FANFICTION; it does NOT have to go by the storyline.

**Disclaimer**: I do not and never will own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. How sad, huh?

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**Timeline Change:** I know Yura's part doesn't come in until later, but I'm reversing the crow and shikon no tama shattering and Yura parts. I have some things planned, that's why I'm doing this. ; Then again, the plans might be scrapped. XD

**Important Changes:** As I said, this will be a rewrite of the Inuyasha storyline with Yu Yu Hakusho characters. And what I mean is I'm rewriting the entire thing and changing a lot of things.

One change is: Taisho-sama will have one child that's alive, and the other is dead! That would be Sesshoumaru being the living one. The fight for the sword will be cough very different.

I think someone mentioned something about the Tetsusaiga and Kurama looking really weird with it. I'd like to say something regarding that. Tetsusaiga will exist, but it won't belong to Kurama contrary to what you may think since I too believe Kurama will look really odd carrying a giant-ass sword and swinging it around like a toy. XD Well, Inuyasha looks that way to me anyways.

'Sesshoumaru' will still have Tenseiga and will still have a 'rivalry' but NOT with Kurama. You'll see why and who when I get to that part.

**BIG NOTE ABOUT CHANGES:** Things will change to however I wish it to so what I wrote above may get changed too depending on what ideas pop up into my head. So far, the story is pretty darn similar to the original Inuyasha story, right? Well, that won't last long. Not with all of this stuff popping up in my head.

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**Unwavering Fate – Chapter 2**

clowangel

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A bright and clear morning greeted the odd trio the next day. Hiei was already wide-awake at dawn practicing his swordsmanship. Kurama was sitting high up in the Goshinboku gazing at the steadily rising sun. Genkai busied herself with preparing breakfast that consisted of stew and rice.

Hiei could not have slept more even if he tried. His mind was buzzing with new information from the previous night. He had found out he might be the reincarnation of Genkai's passed sister, he had indeed traveled back in time, and he was now the guardian of a cursed jewel called the Shikon no Tama which was hanging from a chain around his slim neck.

Scowling, Hiei sheathed his blade, entering the hut; he left his cloak, a black pile in a corner. The morning was much too warm despite it being so early. He decided to stop training that morning. He had too much on his mind. He would get sloppy if he were preoccupied with confusing thoughts. Deciding not to dwell on the insanely annoying information, he started to wander. Eventually, he found himself standing before the Goshinboku. 'How irritating. He's here.' Kurama was still perched in the tree. The redhead seemed to be asleep. Mentally shrugging, he turned to leave. He seriously did not want company right now, especially when the redhead was one of the annoying pieces of crap floating around in his head.

"Ah, Hiei-kun. Ohayo," the redhead murmured just loud enough for Hiei to hear. He sounded half asleep.

The vertically challenged young man stopped and twitched. 'Hiei-_kun_?' He felt like throttling the demon. He had never before in his life been called 'Hiei-kun'. It was degrading in his opinion and too familiar. "Ohayo," he bit out, agitated.

Kurama couldn't help but smirk to himself in amusement. The black-haired human got easily upset over such small things. But then again, he did call him rather familiarly and they had only met yesterday. "Ogenki desu ka?" he asked, keeping his amusement expertly hidden from his voice, once he fully woke up.

"Hn" was the short reply.

Kurama raised a brow. "Not much of a talker, are you?" Amusement was thick in his voice this time.

"So you noticed." Hiei's brow was now ticking. This guy was trying his patience. Really, really trying his patience.

Kurama frowned, mirth shining in his emerald eyes. This guy was just not any fun, was he?

Turning away, Hiei stalked away outwardly calm, inwardly raging. 'That damn demon.' He finally stopped in front of the old well and peered into it. The bones of the centipede youkai were in there. Supposedly, the bones disappear after a while. Thus, it was named the Bone Eaters' Well. 'Weird name if you ask me.' Shrugging to himself, he hopped onto the rim of the well and jumped off. Before he could make a landing, a bright blue light engulfed him once more allowing him passage through time.

Kurama's eyes widened slightly. 'Heh, so that's how he came here.' The demon was now really curious. It was in his nature after all. Hopping gracefully off the branch he was sitting in, he landed lightly on his feet and made his way to the old well. Peering down, he sniffed once. 'Souka…' He could smell remnants of the magic lingering in the soil and wood of the well.

A small breeze blew into the clearing, ruffling his blood red hair slightly. Kurama frowned. He smelt blood. Human blood. He immediately took off for the village. Something must be wrong. The scent of blood was thick and heavy in the air.

* * *

**Modern Time**

Hiei landed lightly on his feet at the other side of the well. Glancing around him, he took in his surroundings and recognized it as his own home's well house. Abruptly, a bunch of liquid was upended on his head from above. His brow once again ticking, Hiei looked up and glared at the perpetrator. Unsurprisingly, it was his grandfather.

The old man believed in the weirdest things and often spoke of legends in which powerful youkai usually roamed the earth or something. Now, he realized maybe the stories weren't so weird after all.

Taking a delicate sniff of the air around him, he growled. The old man had poured sake on him. "Jiji, what in hell was that for!"

"Maa maa, Hiei! It was a ritual to bring you back! And see? You're back! You should be proud of me!" The old man was practically beaming at his 'success' of bringing back his grandson from the bowels of hell.

Shura and his mother who were standing besides the hunched over old man could only blinked.

"Wow! Jii-san! You brought back nii-san!" Shura was practically beaming.

Hiei grit his teeth, fists clenched at his sides, a vein throbbing on his temple. Did his little brother seriously think the mentally unstable old man could bring him back by simply pouring sake over his head! However, he decided not to argue about it.

"Hiei, you must be tired. You've been gone for a day already, practically two." His mother had been worried sick although she didn't show it. Instead, she drank more sake than ever before. "Let me make you a warm meal. You need to take a shower too. You stink!"

Hiei suppressed a sigh and did as suggested while his mother strolled back into the kitchen with his deranged grandfather and prepared a meal for him. He only hoped it didn't have sake in it. If he were lucky, he'd get ice cream for dessert. (Yes, I've decided to bring his fan-made love for the sweet dessert into my fanfic.)

"Ne, onii-san?" Shura was staring at the ground meekly twiddling his fingers.

"What?"

"Grandpa didn't really succeed in bringing you back, did he?"

Hiei almost felt like rolling his eyes. His little brother didn't really think the old man could've done something like that, could he?

"Onii-san, what happened to that… thing?" The violet-eyed boy didn't really know what the ugly bug-like woman was.

"It's dead."

Shura gasped, gaping at his brother. "Y-you killed it? Really killed it?" His eyes were comically wide.

This time, Hiei did roll his eyes and sighed, plucked a piece of string off his hand letting the thin strand fall to the ground forgotten, idly wondering where it came from and walked over to the Goshinboku, sitting on the bench by the ancient tree, Shura following his example. "Yes, we killed it."

"Really? Wow! Wait, we?" The boy blinked. "Where did you go anyway?"

Hiei really didn't mind talking to his brother, but this was a lot of questions and he still wanted to take a shower. "Yes, we. I met a few people over there. And that well led me to ancient Japan, five hundred years into the past."

Again, Shura could only blink while digesting the information he just received. His brain stumbled a few times and his mouth refused to work for a few long seconds, but he eventually looked up at his brother in disbelief before exclaiming loudly. "WOW! That must've been some adventure!"

"That's one way of putting it," Hiei grumbled, getting up and stepping into the house leaving Shura outside alone still giddy with excitement.

An hour later, Hiei had showered, ate, and did some of his boring homework. He didn't even know why be bothered doing his homework. It wasn't like he'd need most of the crap in the future. Throwing his pencil back onto his desk, he left his room and went downstairs to the living room and joined the rest of his family in watching television.

The entire family looked up when there was a loud bang and some shuffling noises. They exchanged glances except for the old man, who got up immediately, took a handful of ofuda out of seemingly nowhere and plastered them all on the walls with lightning speed impossible for a man his age.

"Be gone, devils of hell, youkai of makai!" he chanted while doing a little weird hopping dance.

Hiei, Shura, and Atsuko sweat dropped as they watched the old man's actions.

The sliding door slid open and the old man immediately plastered a thin strip of ofuda on the unsuspecting person's head before anyone could blink. Everyone blinked.

Hiei frowned. 'What is Kurama doing in my house?'

"Who are you? Why are you in our house?" Atsuko quickly stood and took one sword of many off their wall, unsheathed it and stood in front of her family poised to attack if the stranger made a move. Despite appearances, Atsuko can very well take care of herself having been part of a gang years ago.

"Eto… I apologize for intruding, but I haven't any time to explain."

Atsuko blinked. It was a pretty redhead dressed in ancient Chinese clothing. Sheathing her sword, she relaxed slightly. "Who are you and what is your purpose for being here?"

"I go by the name Kurama and I am looking for Hiei-kun," he replied calmly and removed the strip of paper from his forehead.

Hiei twitched at being called by that nickname again. 'Did this man live to annoy him?'

Atsuko's eyebrow rose. 'Hiei-kun?' Was her son finally making friends?

Shura just barely managed to withhold a loud giggle, covering his mouth with his hand, shoulders shaking from quiet laughter. Someone had just called his brother 'Hiei-_kun_'! 'Onii-san's face is priceless right now!' The boy was dearly wishing for a camera right then.

Hiei's face was twisting into a funny looking expression that was a mix between a frown of embarrassment and a glare. The end result was a red-faced Hiei with narrowed eyes and a ticking brow while a vein throbbed on his forehead.

"Oh, Hiei-kun, here's your cloak. In your haste to leave, you left it behind." Kurama tossed the black article of clothing over to the shorter man who caught it and put it on with one fluid movement.

"How did you get here? I thought the baba said only I could pass through."

"Apparently, I can too. Except, I must have something that could connect me to you somehow. In this case, it was your cloak." Kurama smiled slightly when Hiei's eye twitched.

"Tch. What are you here for?" Hiei glared up at the red-haired fox demon. He didn't trust the man one bit. Why should he? After all, he barely knew anything about the other man other than his name and species.

"An emergency." Kurama was suddenly all business, eyes serious, and lips thin. "We have a problem on the other side. The villagers are under control of some sort like puppets. We have no time."

Hiei snorted. "And you're telling me all this because?"

The forgotten family members listened intently to the conversation wondering what was going on.

"Because Genkai and I need your help."

Hiei raised a single eyebrow. "You need my help," he repeated. It was stated blandly and with disbelief clear in his tone of voice.

"Yes, we need your help. Urgently. She's trying to retrieve as many villagers back from under that youkai's control because she can see the threads. However, I cannot and simply cannot help. I was asked to come and hopefully persuade you into helping."

"Threads?"

Kurama merely nodded.

"And how would I be of any help in a situation such as this?"

"Genkai believes you have the eyes necessary to see the puppeteer's strings."

Hiei sighed uncharacteristically. Looking up, his eyes widened, gaze directed behind Kurama. "Kurama, move out of the way!"

"Nani?" Although seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he ducked and rolled out of the way anyway. A pair of confused emerald green eyes turned to the shorter man.

"Threads. It passed the well. Before, I had a piece on me and figured it was nothing although I knew I didn't wear white clothing. I found it slightly suspicious, but didn't think much of it. Obviously, that one piece of thread allowed more to come through." Hiei growled low in his throat. Turning to his family, he started giving orders. "Kaa-san, Jiji, Shura, lock the door once Kurama and I leave. Close all windows, shut all entrances, and tape all cracks. Understand?"

Although confused, they nodded and each ran off to do as told. Hiei unsheathed his sword, focusing the power Genkai mentioned into the katana, his blade glowing a dark red; he sliced through the threads, the now useless material falling to the ground. However, more seemed to be replacing the now harmless string.

"Hiei-kun, we have to get to the other side as quickly as possible before it's too late."

"I know that, damn it."

The pair immediately ran out towards the well house and was faced with a tremendous amount of writhing masses of thread.

Hiei turned his sharp eyes to Kurama. "Kurama, how the hell are we going to get through this? That shit's all over the place!"

"It is? I can't see any of it, remember?"

Hiei groaned. He had completely forgotten. How uncharacteristic of him. "If only we could burn it all."

"Burn? Not a bad idea." A graceful hand reached into his hair and pulled out something small. A seed.

"…" Hiei blinked. "And where are we going to find fire to burn all of it? We can't get back into the house or we'll risk my family."

"You'll see." Within seconds, the small seed in his hand began to grow, red vines growing and stretching. The ends of the vines formed vicious snapping flowers. Acid flowed freely from the snapping snarling mouths, burning holes into the dirt floor.

Hiei's eyes were wide. (OO)

"Hiei-kun, step back."

Without much thought, he obediently stepped back, watching the snapping, writhing, vicious plants and flinching when acid burned holes into the ground with a hiss.

Stretching his arm forward, Kurama let the vines grew longer, the many heads of the blood-red plant spitting acid in random directions which immediately reduced masses of writhing thread to nothing but a pool of hissing bubbling liquid.

"Are they all gone?" Kurama's smooth voice broke Hiei out of his trance-like state.

The shorter man stiffly nodded once and walked over to the well, peering down into its dark depths."Let's go," he gruffly announced.

"I need an item of yours," he replied calmly while he returned the plant to the form of a small seed.

"Forget it." Hiei grabbed the fox's hand, tugged, and the next thing they knew, a blue light had engulfed them bringing them to Feudal Japan.

Kurama blinked once, looked around, took a sniff of the air, and having confirmed this was indeed his time, he leapt out of the well with ease and landed softly on the green grass.

Hiei, with surprising agility for a human, leapt out of the dry well as well causing Kurama to wonder if the shorter man really was a human.

When Hiei finally took a good look around him, his ruby eyes widened drastically. "Holy shit," he muttered as his eyes took in all the white fibers that were strung up everywhere, lying on the grass, winding around tree branches, and more. It looked like a giant spider web that stretched for miles.

"What is it, Hiei-kun?"

Hiei twitched at the name. "Stop calling me that. And that white string stuff is everywhere now. And I mean everywhere."

The next thing the pair new, the threads moved towards them, forcing Hiei to roll away, and Kurama following suit having sensed the movement although he could not see the squirming masses.

"Kuso… If only I had fire," Hiei muttered while he carefully avoided the writhing fibers that were so desperately trying to grab onto him.

"We must get back to Genkai-chan."

Hiei stared at the redhead and pointedly raised a brow.

"Well, we must clear a path first."

Hiei growled. "And how do you supposed we do that, smarty-pants?"

Kurama raised a brow at the unfamiliar insult. "Well, you did mention fire."

"And where in hell do you see fire?"

Kurama shrugged and his hand was lost in his mane of red hair once more. Pulling out yet another seed, he held it in front of him, concentrating his youki into the small seed.

"A little acid won't do much against all this."

"Of course not. Therefore, I'm using fire."

"Fire? A plant made of fire? Does something like that even exist? Even in this time?" Hiei asked, disbelief clear in his voice.

"Why, of course it exists. I just didn't feel I should have used it in your own time. After all, it would've risked burning down the odd well house and your home. Fire spreads."

Hiei rolled his eyes uncharacteristically and stepped aside to allow the fox spirit space to 'work'. The next thing he knew, a tall flaming plant with 'mouths' was spitting fireballs everywhere, quickly setting the thin flammable threads on fire.

Now that the sharp fibers were flaming and the fire spreading, Kurama could see where he shouldn't step and the pair quickly made their way to the village. Once they reached there some ten minutes later, Genkai was nowhere to be seen, and the duo soon found themselves to be surrounded by villagers under control of the unknown enemy, all of them shaking in fear and crying for help.

"Ara…? What do we do now?" Kurama smiled good-naturedly.

"The hell if I know!" Hiei snapped, irritated at the expression on the redhead's face.

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**Kiharu-sama: **Nope, Keiko isn't Yura, but she is someone else. ) In fact, Yura won't even be female. -

**hiei/kurama pycopatic fangrl grlfrnd wannabe: 1. **About Tetsusaiga and Kurama, Kurama will definitely NOT be the one to own Tetsusaiga. There will be a whole new twist to the entire storyline regarding that particular rivalry. Since the rivalry will not be between Fluffy and Kurama-sama. Haha.. You'll have to wait and see who it's between. -

**2.** About the transformation and new moon. There WILL be a transformation, so you'll have to wait and see. XD And there will be the 'Sit' command as well..just not the command sit. Oo; I wonder what Hiei will think of! Why would Kurama need a sit command when he doesn't go out of control? - You'll see.

**flit: **Unfortunately, Eikichi will not be Kirara. Oo; That kitty looks too ordinary. -

**darksaphire:** Well, I would've replaced him with Kuronue, but that would've been no fun! You'd all assume Kagome would be male then right? Then you wont be too surprised when Hiei shows up!

**disturbed66-rose: **Unfortunately, Yusuke is already in use. :(

**Miss D: **Some of your suggestions were actually what I was going to use! OO Wow, are you psychic? Unfortunately, Karasu is already in use as well. Teehee...!

**Blue Moon Fox:** Thank you! I'd appreciate the help.

**darkangel68:** Sadly, Kuronue will not be in this story. He doesn't show up much so it's impossible for me to write his personality. (

**KaraKurama:** No thanks. - I'd like to stick with the characters that exist already. But thank you anways.

**shadow dragon:** Yusuke is already in use. Thank you anyway! And Youko will be Kurama's full demon form. It ought to freak Hiei out!

And as for everyone who reviewed for my previous chapters, thank you! You've inspired me to keep writing this story and updating more than once a year. Teehee. It's a laughing riot too, huh? Hiei being Kagome. - Well, I'm sure no other story out there will have that twist to the Feudal Fairytale! Haha!

**

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**Author's Notes:** Uh oh. Brainwashed villagers surrounded the two! What will happen to them? You'll see in the next chapter but you probably wont be too surprised if you've seen or read Inuyasha. And kudos to whoever guesses who replaced Yura!

) Sorry it took so long to post this chapter, but I wanted to update all my fan fictions at once. If you have time, take a look at my other work too. They're not shabby either.

And review if you have time. Reviews give me inspiration.


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:** Yeah, I've got no excuse for not updating in about a year. xx Aha, gomen? It's just I'm lazy and when I get Writer's Block, it's one hell of a long writer's block. Well, be glad I'm back and this story isn't dead. Neither are most of my other stories. ; Most stories actually have half written chapters so do not fear. OO;

Oh, and now you'll finally know who I replaced Yura with:P The outcome of this battle will be short and well, won't be as climatic as Yura's actual battle. However, I actually like this character. ; So er, I hope you'll like the outcome too.

I also realize that the Shikon no Tama was shattered BEFORE they fought Yura, but I'm changing a few things. x.x So it'll have to get shattered later. -- I actually forgot it's supposed to shatter before they bump into Yura. Hahaha..

- - - - -

**Unwavering Fate - Chapter Three**

Written by Clow Angel

- - - - -

Although outwardly, Kurama was the epitome of calm, inside, he was a chaotic mess. First, he was awakened by Hiei who Genkai claimed is possibly Shizuru's reincarnation. It felt like it was only yesterday when he got put to sleep by Shizuru's arrow. Then, mere days after his awakening, his village is attacked by some puppeteer. Genkai could apparently see the threads causing all the chaos and havoc but he couldn't. He was then told Hiei might be able to see it. Lo and behold, he actually can. Now, they're in a situation where they're surrounded by villagers who had no will to actually fight him but forced to anyway. And he couldn't very well sever the threads that held them under control either because once again, he couldn't see them!

"Hiei, can you cut what threads you see that hold them? I'll take care of your defense."

"Fine."

They tried, but it didn't work. A simple katana without any power couldn't sever the threads.

"Hiei, strike where you see the threads and I'll take care of cutting them," Kurama ordered. Pulling out a rose, he quickly transformed it into his most favored weapon, the Rose Whip. The pair made quick work of the white fibers. Kurama pulled out another seed, this time a fire spitting plant, to get rid of the writhing and invisible enemies.

"Minna, please return to the village. We will take care of what's causing this."

The scared and shaken villagers quickly complied and made their way back to the village, throwing varying degrees of thank you's in their direction before heading off.

Hiei scowled. He didn't like this. Hell, he didn't even want to be here, but he couldn't say no to the damn demon either, even if he was annoyingly cheerful and secretly cunning. Damn him. "Fine, let's go."

Arming himself with a fire spitting plant, Kurama followed Hiei, manipulating the plant to spit fire whenever Hiei pointed at any invisible threads, heading deep and deeper into a forest. They quickly and effortlessly made their way to the source; a little boy.

"Oh! You found me! Good job! My name's Rinku!" the boy was obviously a demon. His light green eyes sparkled with glee. A few strands of brown hair fell over his eyes. He was playing with a pair of yo-yos, twirling them about, doing all sorts of tricks. Hanging out of one of his pockets, were a bundle of yo-yo string.

Kurama reached into his hair, pulled out a red rose, and with a flick of his wrist, the flower morphed into a long thorny whip. "Release your hold on the villagers right now."

Hiei followed his demon companion's example and pulled out his katana.

"But then I won't have any fun! It's not like I'm hurting them," Rinku pouted, clearly believing he was doing no harm.

The redhead decided perhaps Rinku was just bored. He was also just a child and probably didn't know any better. Added to that, he was a demon child. Sometimes, these things happen.

"That is not the way to have fun," Kurama explained. "You're scaring them."

"Oh…" Rinku frowned. "But no one plays with me. I wanted to play. Fine, I won't play with them."

Hiei watched in surprise as all the fibers in the surrounding area fell to the forest floor.

"Why don't you play with me?" Twirling one of the yo-yos above his head, Rinku brought his hand down and forward, flinging the wooden projectile at the redhead.

Kurama easily flipped out of the way, the yo-yo sailing by harmlessly before returning to Rinku's hand.

"Aww…"

"Where are your parents, kid?" Hiei asked. He was pretty sure that even demon children had parents. This one was acting like a spoiled brat though.

"I don't know!" Rinku screamed, obviously upset at the mention of his parents. Growling, he launched the other yo-yo at Hiei.

Hiei being as fast as he was easily dodged the yo-yo. Instead, the yo-yo smashed into a tree that was behind Hiei, pieces of bark ripping off the tree and showering the air with splinters.

"Kuso! Missed again," Rinku growled bringing the yo-yo back to his hand, shaking his head dispersing those thoughts and getting angrier, his messy brown hair standing on end.

"That is enough!" Kurama's eyes flashed golden and the mischievous demon child found himself wrapped from head to toe by a vine, his hands bound to his sides.

"No!! Mama! Papa!!! Where are you?! Help me!!!" Rinku cried helplessly. "Where are you…?" Sniffling and tears pouring from his light green eyes hidden behind tightly closed eye lids; he continued to call for his parents.

Hiei and Kurama exchanged a glance before stepping a little further away from the crying demon child.

"Hiei, what do you suggest we do with him?"

"He's apparently upset because he can't find his parents." Hiei leaned against a nearby tree, crossing his arms. "We can't just kill him for that."

"True, I agree with you. I suppose we'll question him now." Kurama sighed, running a hand through his crimson locks in frustration.

The pair walked over to the sniffling child and sat on the ground, waiting for him to calm down a little.

"Stop crying, Rinku-kun. Please tell me why you decided to control the villagers," Kurama coaxed gently.

"Because I want mama and papa to notice me!" Rinku bawled. "I can't find mama and papa so maybe they can find me if I use my powers."

"When was the last time you saw them, kid?" Hiei asked gruffly.

"A few days ago," Rinku hiccupped as he explained, relaxing in his bonds. "They went out to hunt and never came back."

Kurama frowned. That could mean several things. One, they could be dead. Two, they could've gotten captured. Three, they could be incapacitated. All three were high possibilities and didn't bode well for the small demon's parents.

"We'll bring you with us to the village. Genkai can take care of you while we help search for your parents."

"You'll help me?" Rinku looked at Kurama with wide unbelieving eyes. "Really?"

"That is correct," Kurama replied with a smile. "Now, I'll release you and bring you to the village. There, you can get yourself cleaned up and have a meal. You look like you've been starving."

Rinku smiled sheepishly as his stomach growled in response. "Aheh… I haven't eaten since mama and papa disappeared." The vines unwrapped themselves from around the small body and shrunk into the ground, once again becoming harmless plants.

The demon child blinked in surprise when the vines disappeared and instead, he was helped up by the redhead. He couldn't tell if the redhead was actually female or male, but he or she sure was pretty.

"So we're just going to take him with us? And that old hag will actually take care of the runt?" Hiei wasn't sure if Kurama was just a nice demon or if he was stupid.

"Well, he's just a child and if he gets out of hand, Genkai-chan can easily discipline him. She may be old now, but she's strong."

"Fine. Not that it really matters to me what happens to the runt. Hell, I don't even come from here."

Rinku decided to stay quiet, holding onto Kurama's hand as they led him out of the forest and down a grassy hill towards the village he had disturbed. He didn't know who this Genkai was and wasn't sure what disciplining might mean in human terms but he believed he could trust the redhead. Now that he thought about it, he didn't even know the redhead's name so why did he so readily trust this stranger?

As the view of the village crept closer and closer, Rinku couldn't help but feel nervous. Every step that took him closer to it made his heart beat a little faster. He wasn't sure how he would face all the humans. Unconsciously, his small hand wrapped tighter around Kurama's larger ones.

"Don't worry. They won't do anything to you as long as I'm here," Kurama reassured the tense demon child.

Rinku nodded stiffly.

Hiei who was walking ahead of them rolled his eyes. Whatever the kid got, he deserved it for disturbing his peace and quiet.

Genkai looked up when the flap to her hut was lifted to reveal Kurama, Hiei, and a child.

"Kurama-sama? Who is that?" Genkai stared pointedly at Rinku who squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze.

"This is Rinku," Kurama introduced. "He was the one who caused the havoc earlier today."

"Oh? And why have you brought him here?"

"I would like for you to look after him, Genkai-chan," Kurama replied while urging Rinku to sit down, then taking a seat as well. Hiei didn't bother taking a seat, instead choosing to lean against a wall.

Genkai nearly spit out her tea. "What?"

"He didn't mean any harm. He was just hoping a disturbance would alert his missing parents to his whereabouts."

"I see…" Genkai continued to eye the demon child. "I take it he is a youkai?"

"Correct."

"I'll search for his parents." The chances of finding them alive were slim. Still, if there was still a little hope, he'd take it and search.

Hiei snorted.

Rinku was starting to dislike the shorter man. The uncaring attitude just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Fine, I'll look after him for you, Kurama-sama, so you can search for his parents without worry."

"Arigatou, Genkai-chan."

Kurama did as he promised and searched for young Rinku's parents the entire next week. Hiei returned to his time claiming he was bored with playing hide and seek while Genkai looked after Rinku, teaching him a few things about herbs and medicine which he seemed to like. Rinku meanwhile had apologized to the villagers and after a thorough explanation, they forgave the young demon. They were still wary of him, but after a few days of coexisting with the child, they for the most part warmed up to him and his playful and cheerful nature.

When Kurama finally returned, he brought unpleasant news with him. He found the bodies of what he believed to be Rinku's parents. After Rinku confirmed it with his tears, they performed a proper burial. After the poor youkai child grieved, he had decided to stay in the village, having to come to like it.

- - - - -

Rinku stared at the leafy herb he held in his small hand blankly.

"Rinku," Genkai called him for the third time. "Rinku!"

He finally snapped out of it. "Uh, yeah, Genkai-sama?"

"What is wrong with you, boy?"

"I've been wondering about something, Genkai-sama. Is Kurama-sama a girl or a guy?" he asked with an absolutely straight and serious face.

Genkai couldn't help herself but laugh hard and loud. "Oh dear me, boy. Why do you ask?"

"Kurama-sama's really pretty and Kurama-sama's voice isn't deep or high. I can't tell!"

"Why don't you ask Kurama-sama?" The old woman smirked when the boy turned bright red. So the child was having a crush, eh?

"It's too embarrassing," the green-eyed boy muttered, chewing his lower lip with a sharp canine.

Genkai chuckled. The demon child has been a great amusement to her. Sure he was a prankster sometimes, but he was also pretty cute for a youkai pup.

- - - - -

Over on the other side of the well, Hiei was getting frustrated with himself. After traveling back and forth through the well a few times, he started feeling a strange power growing inside of him, coming from his very soul. He knew he was supposedly the reincarnation of a dead priestess, but that didn't explain the burning sensation he sometimes felt when near the Goshinboku tree or the well.

It wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling. In fact, it was a warmth he was growing to like. It was a powerful feeling of warmth that spread through all his senses, charging his very soul. He could also feel the awakening powers of what he assumed to be holy purifying energy that Shizuru was said to have. This particular energy gave an entirely different feeling. It wasn't cold but it wasn't warm. It was a tingly electrifying sensation whenever he reached into that part of himself during meditation.

Lately, Hiei had been meditating a lot, trying to learn how to harness the foreign powers. He could feel the two energies mixing occasionally creating an indescribable shock to pass through him, something like a sonic boom, only within his mind.

He figured he'd have to go through the well again and find Genkai or the damn redhead to figure it all out properly and not self-destruct or something similar if he made a mistake and it backfires on him. But that would be another day. It was already late and he sure as hell wasn't traveling through Ancient Japan after dark. That world was completely insane and filled with youkai. He was tough but he wasn't an idiot. Nor did he have a death wish.

- - - - -

**Next Chapter:** Shikon no Tama will probably shatter. Time for the hunt to begin!

**Author's Notes:** Yeah, I finally got my ass working on this chapter. :) Aren't you guys proud of me? And really sorry for the lateness but laziness is hard to cure. Hope you'll continue to read this though.

**This Chapter: **I bet you didn't expect Rinku to replace Yura:) I decided to play around with his abilities and figured since controlling yo-yos was do-able, then controlling a few dozen yo-yo strings shouldn't be that hard for the kid. But I figured, yeah, maybe he can be a Shippou, you know? Someone actually suggested it. So I took the suggestion! But Shippou might actually appear so if he does, then he's got a buddy to play with! Probably didn't expect Rinku to start crushing on Kurama did ya?


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